


Time Lord Lessons

by TardisTexan



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-08 13:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1942335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisTexan/pseuds/TardisTexan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor teaches River to use the gifts she was given</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ready to Study?

**Author's Note:**

> At the top of the pyramid, the Doctor said to River - “River, you and I know what this means...” 
> 
> Well, how did she know? Sure, she studied Time Lords and I'm sure Kovarian tried to use her abilities against the Doctor, but she wouldn't have been able to teach River how to be a Time Lord. I think an older Doctor taught her, taught her to use her gifts properly.
> 
> River is in university. End of the second year and has seen the Doctor enough times to be comfortable around him.
> 
> Thank you to the fabulous pass-the-timey-wimey for the beta read!

River was bent over her desk furiously scribbling notes into a note pad when she heard a knock at her door. She ignored it and continued to write, not wanting to break her concentration. The knock came again, more insistent this time and she heard the Doctor's voice call, “River! River, let me in.”

River sat down her pen in a huff and went and opened the door. The Doctor brushed past her in a rush. “I was studying,” she said, one hand on her hip as she closed the door behind him.

“Studying, that's exactly why I'm here. Lessons, so much to learn! So much to know! Let's get started.” The Doctor turned around with a smile and his jaw dropped. River was wearing, well, very little. A white tank top with the tiniest little straps was hanging loosely on her shoulders, giving him an ample view of the side of one of her breasts. The shorts looked like pajama shorts, pink with tiny flowers on them. And they were short, so very short, her long legs going on for miles beneath them.

River noted his expression and smirked at him. “Well, hello Doctor. What can I do for you?”

Forty-two things ran through his mind that she could, and had, done to him that he would enjoy right at that moment and he blushed furiously. He had been careful with his young wife and they hadn't done more than kiss, no matter how much he had wanted to do more. Then he remembered why he had come.

“Studying you say? Aren't all your classes over for the semester? We haven't already started have we?” he asked, checking his watch.

“My last exam is this afternoon.”

“Just a bit early,” the Doctor murmured. “No matter. I have some things to work on, come find me in the TARDIS when you are done? We have a lot to do.”

River nodded. The Doctor headed for the door, but stopped just before he opened it.

“Good luck on your exam, not that you need it,” he said and kissed her on the forehead. The Doctor made a small noise as he looked River up and down again and turned to go. 

River grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled him to her, kissing him hard on the lips. “So what are these lessons you came here for?” she asked him, her fingers running up and down his chest. “Fashion lessons, certainly you need those. Flirting lessons? You do pretty well at that, but there is definitely room for improvement. Or do I need to give you the type of lessons that we need a lot less clothes for?” 

The Doctor moaned and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her. River was leaning in to him, her mouth opening beneath his when he suddenly pulled back and out of her arms. “Oi! Fashion lessons?” he said incredulously. I'll have you know...” River shut him up with a kiss, pulling him right back against her. 

When they parted, the Doctor chuckled. “Oh my bad, bad girl. You'll find out. See you later? I'm parked in the usual spot.” River nodded, pushed him out the door, and went back to her desk.


	2. The Proposal

“Doctor!” River called, stepping into the TARDIS and not seeing him in the console room. 

“You aren't ready for dinner,” the Doctor said, coming down the stairs in his tuxedo.

“You said something about lessons,” River said looking down at her jeans. “We are going to dinner?”

“Of course we are. You finished your semester with top scores. Yes, spoilers,” he said quickly at her unspoken question. “And yes, we have lessons to begin, but we can begin them over dinner. Go get dressed.” The Doctor waved River toward the stairs as he input coordinates. River looked at him questioningly, but went off to the wardrobe.

Dinner was being served in a small restaurant in 1920s Paris. At a back corner table, the Doctor sat enraptured with his young wife. The restaurant was dark and the candlelight from the table cast a warm glow on River's skin. She was so young and full of life and dazzling. But now was not the time to get lost in the curve of her lips, no, that could wait. He had a job to do, a responsibility to her. 

The Doctor had been thrilled when he had found a message from River and it had led him to the young woman in University. She had been ready to see him and he was happy to let her get to know him, let her learn to feel comfortable around him. And if her snogging the daylights out of him was a side affect to that, well, who was he to argue? But now he wanted to start showing her who she was without the programming, what gifts she had been given. “River, tell me what you know about Time Lords,” the Doctor asked after the waiter had brought their meals and left them alone. 

River rolled her eyes. “You are going to have to be a little more specific, Sweetie. Gallifrey and the Time Lords are a pretty big subject and one you know that I've been studying my whole life.”

“Well,” the Doctor adjusted his bow tie in pride, “You are correct about that, My Dear.” Before River could roll her eyes again, he continued. “But yes, I'll be more specific. What are the capabilities, the abilities, of a Time Lord that makes them different from other species? Not physical characteristics, but abilities?”

River sat her fork down next to her plate. “Regeneration. That's physical in a way, but a pretty obvious difference. Increased mental capacity and advanced knowledge of technology, certainly. Telepathy. Ability to perceive the past, present, and all possible futures. And let's not forget an incredible ability to be completely arrogant and impossible on a regular basis.”

He gave her an amused look at the last comment, but let it go. “Very good,” the Doctor said with pride. “Let's start with those. Now, we know you know all about regeneration. But how many of the others were.. umm.. developed during your earlier years?” The Doctor saw a bit of panic in River's eyes and he took her hand and squeezed. “It's okay, I've got you. I know we haven't talked about your training much, but I want to know what you know and what your abilities are. You don't have to be specific if it's too much.”

River felt herself tightening up. She didn't want to talk about her childhood training. But the Doctor was rubbing a small circle over her wrist, trying to soothe her and she found it was working, a little. 

“Telepathy, triggered by touch” she started. “I can feel other's feelings and sometimes influence them.”

“Okay, good. Good start,” the Doctor smiled at her encouragingly. 

“Kavorian wanted me to to be able to see time and all possible futures clearly,” River said softly, “but she couldn't find anyone to teach me that. There were some that tried, thought they understood, but it never quite worked, so she found... other methods to teach me to get me closer to you.” River's eyes darkened and a blank look covered her face for a moment.

But she shook her head, and looked at him again with a small, nervous smile. “I don't know how to explain it, but I _feel_ time. I don't always understand what I'm feeling, but I know I feel it, feel it stretching out around me. I see paths and understand how some choices affect the future, but I don't...”

“River,” the Doctor pulled her hand up and kissed it. “I understand. Yes, you are feeling time. Gift from the TARDIS. And time running through you can be overwhelming. I know how you feel, and I can help you. I would like to teach you. Will you let me? Will you let me teach you how to be a Time Lord?”

River's eyes widened. “Do you think I can?”

“Of course,” the Doctor said, matter of fact, kissing her hand again and lowering it back to the table. “You are River Song, and River Song is amazing.”

River wasn't so sure that she was the River Song that the Doctor thought she was, but she desperately wanted to be. And learning to master the Time Lord part of her was very exciting. “How do we start?”


	3. Telepathy 101

After dinner, the Doctor stood outside of River's bedroom while she changed clothes. He ran his hand down the door fondly. This was their room. The TARDIS knew when to hide things from him or hide things from her depending on where they were, but when they were both after Area 52, it was the room they shared. The only place either one of them would fully let their guard down.

But the River in there now didn't know that, so he stood back against the door across the hall, his jacket and tie discarded somewhere, his collar open and his sleeves rolled up, and waited for her. River opened the door, back in her jeans and a Luna U t shirt, and smiled at him. He looked quite sexy, she thought, lounging against the door frame, his hair mussed, the shirt undone. River walked over and reached a hand out to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt. “You know Sweetie, we could start with one of those other kinds lessons I mentioned,” she said in a low voice, looking up at him through her lashes.

The Doctor groaned and wrapped an arm around her, kissing her on the forehead. “Come on,” he said in an exasperated voice, opening the door behind him. “I have a surprise for you.” He pulled her in to the room behind him and twirled around, giving her his best _Ta Da_ face. 

River looked around the room. It was warm and inviting. The light, coming from somewhere, was a very good imitation of late morning light on Earth. There was a big wooden desk in the middle, comfy looking furniture around the walls, and bookshelves filled with books and supplies. “What's this?” she asked.

“This is your study, My Dear. We can use this room to work in together, but you can also use it any time you are on the TARDIS. It is yours to do with what you want.” 

River walked over to the desk and ran her hand across the old wood. It was beautiful. She looked around the room carefully, taking in all the details. It was perfect.

“And look at this,” the Doctor said, taking a small remote from the desk. The light in the room turned to evening and then the room darkened all together. The Doctor reached over and switched on a lamp close by. “What do you think?” he asked excitedly.

“I love it, thank you Doctor.”

“Thank the TARDIS. She would do just about anything for you, you know,” he said.

River knew. She felt the personality, the presence, of whatever the TARDIS was every time she was on board. “Being on the TARDIS is the only place I've ever felt so..... protected,” River said, avoiding the Doctor's gaze. 

The Doctor went over to River and kissed her curls gently, pulling her into his arms. Every reminder of her horrible life up until Berlin made his stomach clench. “River Song, you have and will live many places, but the TARDIS will always be your home, for as long as you'll have us.”

“That's not a spoiler?” she teased him, locking her hands behind his neck and looking up at him, flirty once again. The Doctor had quickly learned that keeping spoilers was harder for him than he suspected it was her when she was the one who knew more than him. Sometimes River got angry and surly the way he had done when she was the one was keeping things from him, but this young, sexy, woman in his arms had quickly learned the effect she had on him and she used every tool in her arsenal to get information out of him every chance she got. 

“That's not a spoiler, that's a fact.” He gave her a quick kiss and took her hands from around his neck and led her to a comfortable couch in the corner, turning on the lamp nearby. This couch was his favorite place in the room. He could stretch out and watch his wife working at her desk, and pretend like he was interested in whatever book he had in his hand, until she caught him watching. Then sometimes she would come over, and they would... the Doctor shook his head clearing his mind. Maybe this couch wasn't the best place to try to keep spoilers out of his mind while letting River in. But it was too late to change course. They sat down and the Doctor took River's hands and turned her to face him. “Okay, telepathy. Show me what you've got.”

River gave him a questioning look and he shook his head yes, urging her to go head. River smiled at him with a _you asked for it look_ and closed her eyes. The Doctor, watching her face, felt her pushing against his blocks. It was a weak push that he easily resisted. He shouldn't be cheery about beating her on her first try, but older River always won everything so he was a little giddy when he got to to be he one on top. But then just as suddenly he felt very angry. Nothing had changed, River's face was calm, but he felt his rage rising. He quickly realized what she was doing and said aloud, “Okay, Okay River, that's enough.” He took deep breaths and he watched the smug smile cross her face as he tried to keep his composure. “River, my anger is not to be trifled with. You have no idea how dangerous I am,” he growled, yanking his hands away from her.

“Oh don't I? I believe I have been taught exactly how dangerous you are,” she said, a little coldly.

“But you haven't seen it first hand,” he said in an angry, low voice. “My wrath is... “ He looked at her and tried to stop. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I'm sorry.” He took a few deep breaths and when he had himself back under control, turned back to her smiling as if nothing had bothered him. “Very effective tool you have there. Maybe just some lessons on how best to use it... later.”

He took her hands again. “Now, let me try.” He closed his eyes and pushed at her mental blocks, trying to enter her mind. He had a hard time. She had at least been taught that much. He had learned over the years exactly how to get around her blocks if he had to, but this was not the time. “Good, good River,” he said aloud, opening his eyes.

“Now, I'm going to invite you in.” He took her hands and put them on his face, her fingertips on his forehead. “Try the same push you did the first time, and I'm going to let you in.” They closed their eyes and River pushed and felt him welcome her, and she felt a peaceful calm. It was nice and inviting, but it felt wrong.. false.

He felt her struggle against the feeling, it made her on guard. The whole environment, everything, was a lie, and she didn't understand or want to be there. “What is this you are showing me? This isn't real, this is... wrong,” she asked him, struggling to pull her hands away.

“Are you afraid?” she felt him ask.

“Yes, she answered aloud.

“Rule 7, never run when you are afraid, remember?” the Doctor said into her mind. “I'm showing you this because I'm also afraid, afraid to show you...” she felt him say. She felt his unease, his fear. She understood him not wanting to let down his guard, he was letting an assassin into his mind, his bespoke psychopath he had said. Why would he trust her?

“Oh River, it's not that at all,. There is so much here that I just can't bear to show you.” he said to her, keeping the connection and feeling her thoughts. “Let me find something.... “ and then suddenly River could see herself standing on a planet. 

“Gallifrey,” she said aloud, knowing instantly where they were. She saw the Doctor standing next to her, and could feel his pain and his love toward the planet they were on. “This is what my home looked like,” he was saying to her, showing her the beauty of his world. River felt a tear run down her face. It was so beautiful, and the Doctor was so sad.

Quickly they were back in the false calm of the Doctor's manufacture, and then the Doctor broke their connection. It was as powerful and intense for him to let her in as it had been for her and he needed a minute. 

The Doctor shook his head and gave River a smile, wiping the tear from her cheek. “Are you okay?” he asked. 

“Yes, I'm good. Gallifrey was beautiful.”

“Yes, it was. And we can go back this way, will go back, but another time.” He took a deep breath. “Shall we keep going?” River nodded and they clasped hands again. “Okay, you let me in this time,” the Doctor said, steadying himself. He had no idea what he would find. Her mind had been so broken for so long. They opened communication and River tried to project the false calm like the Doctor did.

“River, I can see your blocks, your walls. They are well built walls, but I can see them, I can see you are hiding something from me. Can you see my blocks?”

River felt around a bit. “No, I don't see or feel anything, other than what you are showing me,” she said aloud. 

“You keep answering me aloud. Talk to me here,” she felt him say.

“I don't know how,” she replied aloud.

“These messy walls _and_ you can't communicate? This teacher you had was rubbish,” he thought.

“You can say that again,” she responded automatically, this time not aloud, not really realizing what she had done.

“Ah, there's my Good Girl,” the Doctor responded to her, a wave of pride flooding in. 

\------

They worked for several hours, the Doctor showing her how to hide her walls, how to thwart sneak attacks, how to show him pieces while keeping other things hidden, until he felt her begin to get tired. He broke their connection and pulled her to him. “Come on,” the Doctor said, laying back on the couch, with River's head on his shoulder. “You should rest a while. That was very good work you did. Your mind is so fast and you are so clever, you will have this down in no time.” 

“Doctor, why are you teaching me these things?” River asked tentatively.

“Because you are a child of the TARDIS, human plus, part Time Lord. You are so much more than what Kovarian led you to believe you were. I want to show you who you can be.”

“You already know who I am in my future.”

“Yes.”

“So you already know what I can and cannot do?”

“Yes, well... sort of....”

“So, this must be very tedious for you, teaching me, when the me you already know can already do all of these things.”

“River, being with you is never tedious,” he said, pulling her a little closer. “It is my privilege to be able to show you the amazing woman you turn out to be.”

“Are you turning me in to her?” River asked, her voice harder than she had intended.

“What do you mean?” he asked trying to keep his voice neutral, even though he knew perfectly well what she meant, and that he was completely guilty of her accusation.

“You already love her, I know. You trust her. And I am not that woman. I know you want me to be her... “ 

The Doctor sat up and looked at her. “River, I owe you so much. You have saved my life once and will do so again, many times, and in more ways than you will ever know. And yes, I have told you more than once how important you are to me, how I feel about you. It is an inescapable fact that we know each other in your future, but you do have a choice. You don't have to love me back. I am yours, but you don't have to be mine. I know this is confusing, and I'm so rubbish at this. No where near as good as you were... will be... whatever.”

River couldn't imagine being the one who knew more than he. He was the Doctor, ageless god who had all of time and space at his feet. And someday she would be the one with the upper hand? Well, that actually sounded quite fun, didn't it?

“Doctor,” she said softly, touching his lips softly with her fingers. “Will you show me... show me how....” 

The Doctor cupped River's face in his hands and bent down to kiss her. When their lips met, he opened his mind and let her see, not everything of course, but he let her see how utterly devoted he was to her, even the her that was here with him now. Brilliant student, cleverest person he knew, strength above everyone else to break the training she had had, and beautiful, oh so beautiful. 

\----

Later, when the Doctor had sent River off to her room with promises of flying lessons soon, he went to his own study with a cup of tea and a few biscuits. He took the diary that matched River's and wrote about the night. It had been more difficult than he thought it would be to let her in. This was the first time he had been inside River's mind when she didn't love him back, and it hurt. He understood all too well now all the times River had looked at him with pain in her eyes when he was the younger one. 

The Doctor went to the console room and made a quick stop on Kia 9, the planet where Stormcage was, and ordered an enormous bouquet of flowers to be delivered to her. He had long since bribed the warden to make sure his gifts made it through. He wanted to deliver them in person, but knowing the woman in their bedroom right now, she'd come rushing out and the two of them would gang up on him..... Oh No, that was a bad idea, very bad idea. 

Wasn't it?


	4. Flying 101

River was sitting at the kitchen table having some toast and tea for breakfast the next morning when the Doctor came in and dropped a heavy book on the table next to her. 

“What's this?” River asked, eyeing what looked to be a very old book with Gallifreyan writing on the cover.

“TARDIS flying 101,” the Doctor answered her, pouring himself a cup of tea and sitting down. “Can you read it?

“Coordinate Marking,” River said, reading the cover and then opening and flipping through it. “Doctor, this is a textbook,” he said, raising an eyebrow at him. “Not exactly what I had in mind when you promised me flying lessons.”

“Yes, it is a textbook. First rule of flying is to know where you are going,” he said, stealing River's toast.

River gave him a questioning look and snatched her toast back from him. “You never start out knowing where you are going, or when you do you never get there properly.”

“River, proper coordinates are very important. Maybe there is a certain young college student I want to visit, I need to know when and where to go. Or perhaps someone needs to be caught when they jump out of the airlock of a category 4 starliner in the middle of space? Just a few seconds off would mean disaster. Proper coordinates are essential!” The Doctor crossed his arms and looked at her sternly. He knew that River's coordinates were always perfect but he was going to make sure that they became so.

River noted the spoiler for future reference. “Okay, point taken. So why are yours off so often?”

The Doctor sputtered, “I'm not the one who is off generally. It's this TARDIS, she has quite the mind of her own.”

River felt the shift in the hum of the TARDIS. Was that pride she felt?

“There is something else I would like to give you that goes along with this lesson.” The Doctor took a piece of paper out of his pocket and a pen and sat them down on the table. “Now that we have a telepathic link established, you can contact me with this.”

River knew about the Doctor's psychic paper. She reached out and drew a finger across the surface. “I can send you a message?”

The Doctor nodded and took out his own paper. “Think of me, this me right in front of you, then jot down a message for me.”

River pulled the paper toward her. She looked at the Doctor, smiled, and then wrote a message. The message disappeared and the Doctor opened the small folio holding his own paper.

“River!” he exclaimed, quickly shutting the paper again. 

“What? Not the kind of message you were hoping to receive?” River batted her eyelashes at him.

The Doctor shook his head. Actually, that was exactly the type of message he received from River fairly often, and he always quite enjoyed answering them. But this was not the time for that.

River scooted her chair closer to his and put her hand on his thigh. The Doctor closed his eyes and gulped. When River's lips met his neck just under his ear and her hand started to move upward the Doctor jumped out his chair, flinging it backward. “River, stop that!”

He saw the hurt flash in her eyes before she hid it and the Doctor sighed. He righted his chair and sat back down. “River Sweetheart, don't ever think I don't want you,” he said kissing her hand and holding it between his own, avoiding her eyes. “But remember what I said about you having a choice?”

“Doctor, this isn't the 19th Century. Having sex doesn't have to _mean_ anything.”

This time River saw the hurt reflected in his eyes when he looked up at her. “It does to me,” he said quietly. And River understood. This man, this wonderful man, who had told her he loved her on the first day he met her was so many things wrapped up into one. Sometimes she saw the child in him, sometimes she saw the warrior, a protector, a friend, and a villian. But right at this moment saw the man, a man who had lived a long, long life. This was a man who loved deeply, and a casual romp was not what he wanted anymore.

“You are young and in college. Go out and do what ever you want. I certainly did when I was a bit younger,” he said, the youthful mirth back in his eyes. “Don't worry about me. I'll be here when and if you are ready.”

“Now,” he said, grabbing the book, “You may be right that I didn't pay as much attention in this class as I should have, but I'm sure you will excel with this.”

He spent some time explaining to her the concepts, showing her how to feel where she was in relation to other things, then they went back to Luna University and walked around the campus, practicing a bit. He explained how to channel the time she felt and help her feel her place in it. Then he left her with a kiss on the cheek and the book under her arm in front of her dormitory.

 

River had signed up for a dig during her break between semesters. She spent days in the dirt with the other students and at night she studied the coordinates textbook and practiced feeling time around her. On the last day, she told the others she that she was going to see her parents for a few days and her ride would come pick her up. When she was alone, she sent the Doctor a message on the paper and waited for him.

In about an hour the TARDIS materialized and she was quite smug that she had done it right. Until the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and she saw fear in his eyes. “River, hello,” he said, stepping out trying to be cool, but River saw something in his eyes she didn't like at all.

“Hello, Sweetie. Got my message?” she said, moving toward him.

“Yes, I did. Did you need something?” the Doctor answered, moving back against the door of the TARDIS.

“I wanted a ride to my parent's house.”

“River, I am not a taxi service,” he said sternly, looking around uncomfortably. 

River noticed he hadn't pulled out his diary yet. “Doctor have we done Berlin yet?”

“Berlin? No, I haven't seen you in Berlin. Why?”

River sighed, and waved her hand at him, like she was shooing him away. “I'm ready for my next lesson. When you understand that, come back.”

“What?” the Doctor asked, a bit angrily. “You call me here and now you want me to go away? I am not your personal driver and I'm not your errand boy and I'm certainly not going to come to you every time you call!” The Doctor turned and slammed the door of the TARDIS and it disappeared in front of her eyes.

“And you are so wrong,” she said to the air, laughing. Ten minutes later the TARDIS appeared again and she walked in, not even waiting for him to come out. “So, that was the young Doctor I presume? Oh, I think I'm going to like torturing him.”

“Yes, you do,” the Doctor grumbled, coming around the console. Then he smiled at her and gave her a peck on the cheek. “You did very well with the coordinates, My Dear, just not so well finding the right Doctor. Sadly, I can tell you that you rarely will find the one you are looking for.” 

River thought he looked a little sad about that, but then the Doctor spun around on his heel and gave her a dazzling smile. “But sometimes you will,” he said, bopping her on the nose with his fingertip. “Sometimes you will. Now if I remember correctly, and I always do, you wanted to see your parents. Come over here and we'll figure out the coordinates.”


	5. Flying 201

“And this lever controls the thrust...”

“No it doesn't.” 

“Yes, it does!” The Doctor pushed the lever, but River swore she felt no difference in the flight of the TARDIS.

“Sweetie,” River said, laying her hand on his shoulder. “The TARDIS taught me to fly her herself. I think she's probably better at it than you.”

“And how much of that flight do you remember, River Song?” the Doctor said, looking at her with an amused look on his face, his arms crossed and his hip against the console.

River looked down at the floor then back up at him. “It doesn't matter how much I remember, it's all stored up here. Steel Trap.” she said smugly, pointing at her head. “If I don't remember how to fly her, how do I know you are wrong about the thrust?”

“I'm not wrong, River!”

“Yes you are!”

“Oh really?” the Doctor challenged. He reached over and hit a button and all of the sudden the TARDIS was thrown into what felt like very rough turbulence. The ship shook and rocked and dropped. The shaking got so bad that River was nearly thrown off her feet. The Doctor held on to the rail and grinned at her, his _Isn't this fun?_ grin. River pulled herself to the console and pushed the same button – nothing changed. Then she flipped a few switches and the TARDIS continued to shake, throwing her to the floor. River pulled herself back up and closed her eyes, trying to talk to the TARDIS. She felt the TARDIS, but the Old Girl wouldn't show her the right control. 

The Doctor stumbled up next to River and took her hand. He guided it to a blue button and the flight immediately calmed. “Blue stabilizers,” he said with a fond look in his eyes.

“Like those stabilizers do you?” River said, catching her breath.

“Not at all, hate them actually,” the Doctor said smiling at her. “But they can be handy now and again.”

River gave him a suspicious look then turned back to the console. “Okay. Now that you aren't trying to shake the teeth out of my head, what's next?”

“Let's practice a hover maneuver,” the Doctor said, pulling the scanner toward him. “Let's go hover over Torchwood. It'll drive whoever is running the controls crazy.”

“Can I shoot them if they come running out?” River asked innocently.

“Only if it's Jack.”

“Who's Jack?” River asked. “Is he cute?”

The Doctor looked at River and the tiny little skirt she was wearing. “Okay, maybe not Torchwood. If you want to shoot something, maybe we can find some Autons or Cyborgs or something..” he muttered, changing their flight path. 

“But now I want to meet Jack. Who is he? Is he someone else from my future? Oh.. do you have a rival?” River asked, mischief twinkling in her eyes.

The Doctor groaned and pulled her to him and placed her between him and the console, her back just brushing against him. He took her hands and guided them over the controls. 

“Spoilers,” he said, and stepped back a bit, watching River fly. Even though they were separated by years, the River before him now looked like the same River he had watched fly his ship hundreds of times. Even though she wasn't exactly sure what she was doing, she did it with confidence and grace. He remembered how irritated he had been to watch her fly his ship the first time and smiled. Even though that confidence of hers had been completely insufferable, now he was simply proud. “That's my girl,” he said softly, smiling. Until he saw her reach for a small black lever. 

“No, don't touch that one!” he said, grabbing her hand. 

“That's not the horizontal leveller?”

“No, not it is not,” he said. “If you touch that in flight, we blow up.”

“Well that sounds ridiculous. Why would there be such a thing? Why would we blow up?”

“Because we would.”

“So you don't know?”

“Of course I know,” the Doctor said, his eyes darting around quickly. “It's just hard to explain to someone who doesn't understand the physics of time travel.”

River looked at him and rolled her eyes. 

\------

That night after dinner, the Doctor found River in his library curled up in a chair with another one of his text books – The Physics of Time Travel. He chucked and dropped a kiss on the top of her curls and left her to read.


	6. Paradoxes 101

River and the Doctor were having tea in Amy and Rory's cozy kitchen, the Doctor rummaging around in the cupboard, “How can Amy be out of Jammie Dodgers? She always keeps some for me.”

“Check in the cabinet where the tea was, I think I saw a package in there,” River said, pouring another cup.

“Ah ha!” the Doctor said, pulling out the package and finding a plate to put a few on before sitting back down. “Now, as I was saying, you can not alter a fixed point in time. Altering a fixed point in time could destabilize and destroy the entire space time continuum.” The Doctor threw his arms wide. “All of space and time!” 

They had been talking about paradoxes for what felt like hours and River was still questioning him. “But why would a point be fixed?”

“Certain events have such an impact on history as a whole, such an impact on the universe,” the Doctor gesturing with his hands, “that interfering with it could literally tear reality to shreds.”

River looked thoughtful. Kovarian had told her about this. Time Lords, the Doctor in particular, were so powerful that he could destroy the universe with just a few words. Apparently this is one thing she had been right about. “Have you ever done it?”

“What?” the Doctor asked innocently, taking a bite of his biscuit.

“Altered a fixed point.”

He looked and River and then quickly averted his eyes. “I wouldn't dare.” 

_Rule one,_ River thought. “But you've seen it,” River said.

The Doctor nodded and sighed. He knew River would someday know all about altering a fixed point. And no matter what he told her, how much he warned her against it, she would do it anyway. He would tell her how wrong, how destructive it was, and she would still sacrifice it all just for him. The Doctor looked into her eyes. He didn't see the love there that had been in her eyes on the pyramid, but he saw everything else. Young, headstrong, stubborn, intelligent, dangerous River Song. The woman who could tear apart time just because she loved him. And even though he had been angry at her, he had still been proud of everything she was. 

So he told her. Every instance of altering a fixed point and the disastrous consequences. He told her about every time he had seen the universe collapse. Of course, some of the stories had to be altered for spoilers, but he still told her. She needed to understand what she would be a part of.

“Okay, message received,” River said taking a biscuit, “altering a fixed point is bad. How will I know when a point is fixed?”

“A Time Lord knows,” the Doctor said, leaning back in his chair.

“I'm not exactly 100% Time Lord, Sweetie. How will I know?”

The Doctor thought about it and stood up, grabbing the last cookie. “Let's go. Maybe it actually is the right time for you to meet Jack.”

\-------

After a quick trip to the school book depository in Dallas in 1963, the Doctor took River to a pub not far from the Wales Millennium Center. “Now River, I need you to behave around Jack,” the Doctor said sitting down with their drinks. 

“Whatever do you mean, Doctor?” River asked with wide eyed innocence. 

Truth be told, the Doctor was a bit frightened about introducing River to Jack. He was more than just a little concerned that by the end of the night he would end up in bed with both of them. His mind raced, seeing both of them naked and at first it was nice, but then Jack would touch River and then.... “No!” the Doctor yelled in anger. River gave him a quizzical look that meant he had said that out loud. Well, that certainly settled that. “Just behave,” he said to River, taking her hand and then scooting his chair closer to her. 

The Doctor felt Jack before he saw him. He watched River's face and saw the exact instant she felt him too. It had taken her a bit longer, but she had felt him. 

“Hello, Doctor,” Jack said when he reached the table. The Doctor nodded at him and turned to River, taking her hand and standing up. “River, this is Captain Jack Harkness. Jack, this is River Song.”  
Jack gave River a long look and gave a low whistle. “Hello River,” he said. “The Doctor always has beautiful woman around, but you may be the.... “

The Doctor cut in, pulling River toward him, “River I'd like to talk to Jack a moment. Would you run out to the TARDIS for me and get one of my special straws from the kitchen?”

“I'm sure they have straws here, Sweetie,” River answered, her eyes giving Jack the once over. 

“But I'd like one of my special fizzy straws.” The Doctor pulled at her hand, and when she looked at him he whispered, “Please.”

River looked back and forth between the pleading Doctor and the smiling Jack and after a bit of hesitation nodded. She walked around the table and toward the door. Jack and the Doctor both watched her go. “Wait a minute,” Jack said, “I know that arse. Hey, she stole my.....”

“Jack!” the Doctor said, pulling him down toward the table. “You will not tell River you have met her before. And you will not flirt with her and you certainly will not....... do more than flirt.”

Jack looked at the Doctor, sensing something different from all the other times the Doctor had told Jack not to flirt with his companions. “What is going on here, Doctor? Who is she?”

The Doctor leaned back in his chair and gave a smug smile. “River Song is my wife.”

“Your what?” Jack's jaw dropped. Little in this universe surprised Jack anymore, but this certainly did.

The Doctor gave Jack the short version of the story – time traveler, younger version, spoilers. And by the time River got back, Jack had grudgingly agreed to all of the Doctor's demands. As River sat back down, the Doctor said, “Jack, why don't you tell River what she's feeling right now... what's so wrong about you.”

“I'm a fixed point,” he said simply, and watched as confusion furrowed River's brow. “Let's order some food and I'll tell you all about it.”

Over dinner, he told River about Rose and why he was a fixed point. Then over beers, Jack told River every story about the Doctor he knew. And then over shots, he started telling her his own stories. River kept up with Jack, shot for shot, and by the fourth story, they were both ridiculously drunk and madly flirting with each other. 

The Doctor sat back in his chair with a scowl on his face. The thing was, the Doctor needed Jack. He wouldn't be there for all of River's adventures and Jack would watch out for her when he couldn't. He needed River to trust Jack. So, he sat and watched Captain Jack Harkness flirt with his wife. He was thinking about all the various ways he could hurt Jack without killing him when he noticed that both Jack and River were suddenly staring at him, and they looked.... predatory.

"What?" he asked, looking between the two of them. Then he felt a hand on his knee, then another hand on his other knee, and then both of hands started to move. “No way, you two. That's enough. Time to go,” the Doctor pulled River up from the table. River pouted, “But Sweetie, I want to hear more stories.”

Jack looked disappointed, but stood and took River's hand and bowed like a formal gentleman, “Don't worry, Gorgeous. I have a feeling will be seeing each other again.” 

River laughed and then threw her arms around Jack's neck and noisily kissed him on the lips. Just as Jack was putting his arms around her, she pulled away and said, “Oh, I'm looking forward to it.” The Doctor made a noise that might have been a growl and pulled River away. 

Jack shook his head and laughed, watching them go. The Doctor was married. Would wonders never cease? “Next round's on me boys!” he announced loudly and sat down at the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special Thank You to the TARDIS Data Core Wiki for helping me explain paradoxes and fixed points in time.


	7. Corridors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From a prompt on Tumblr - The TARDIS corridors 101

“Get inside, River,” the Doctor pushed River through the doors of the TARDIS, his voice hard. River knew he was angry with her, but she didn't care. She was angry with him too.

“You cannot do things like that,” he said, flipping switches and sending them into the vortex. “You cannot steal whatever you want, you cannot kill whoever you want, you cannot....”

“Says who?” River interrupted, fury in her eyes to match the Doctor's. “You? You who have destroyed your own people? You who have wrought so much destruction that you have whole religious movements making assassins to kill you? You have no right to tell me what to do.”

The Doctor's furious look faltered just a moment, but then his hard resolved returned. “You need to learn the boundaries of wrong and right, River. You have done whatever you please for long enough.” He knew it was his fault that she had been made like this and that it was his responsibility to deal with it.

River laughed, a hard laugh that drove a shiver down his spine. “And you think you can control me?”

The Doctor took a step forward and grabbed her arm, harder than he meant to. Before he realized what was happening, River turned and planted a roundhouse kick to his chest, throwing him back and knocking the wind out of him. She then kicked out against his leg and he heard the snap of bone. When he crumpled to the ground, River put her boot against his throat. 

Even though he had seen it before, the look the Doctor saw in her eyes made him grow cold in fear all over again. River Song was not there. Melody Pond's training had kicked in and he doubted she had even realized what she had done. His eyes immediately softened as well as his voice, “River Sweetheart,” he strained against the pressure on his windpipe, “River, please... please stop.”

River blinked and looked down in horror at the Doctor. Tears welled up in her eyes and she bolted for the interior of the TARDIS. 

The Doctor groaned and raised up on his elbows. He had seen River's training take over more than once. She fought it as much as she could, but sometimes she couldn't hold it back any longer. He knew she would be beating herself up for it and he knew he had to find her quickly. He made his way to the railing and pulled himself up. He yelped in pain when he stood, but he slowly made his way toward the corridors. 

The med bay was just inside the door and the Doctor gave himself something for the pain and put an ambulatory splint on his leg. When he got River calmed down maybe she would take him to Rory and the nurse could set it properly. 

\------

River ran through the corridors of the TARDIS. She was trying to find her room, but the ship had moved it. In fact, she didn't recognize anything she saw. She tried door after door, finding them all locked. “What the fuck are you doing to me?” River yelled at the ship, tears streaming down her face.

The Doctor had told her that the ship changed the layout at whim, but she hadn't seen it firsthand or understood exactly what he meant. She started to slow down and pay attention to what was happening and she realized that the TARDIS was taking her in circles.

“Oh no, I don't want to see him. You can't let him find me!” she pleaded with the walls, touching them and trying to bend them to her will with telepathy. Then she heard the Doctor's voice calling her name. “Please, please, I don't want to him to see me,” she said to the ship and started running again, her boots echoing down the halls. She ran and ran and eventually turned a corner and saw the back of the Doctor moving away from her. His leg was in a high tech splint and he was hobbling along with his hand on the wall for support. She quietly backed down the hall and took another turn.

“River! River, please stop running,” he called to her. He could hear her boots echoing down the halls but he could also feel the TARDIS and he knew that his old girl would not let River hide, not this time. 

River stopped to rest in a hallway and she heard the Doctor coming closer to her. She tried all the doors in vain, all of them still locked of course. She was about to try to kick a door in when she heard the Doctor's calm voice. “Rule seven, River. What is it?”

River sank to the floor in defeat. She pulled her legs toward her and buried her face in her arms. The Doctor slowly made his way to her and sank down next to her. “Never run when you are scared,” he heard her say quietly.

The Doctor turned toward her and pulled her hair away, trying to see her face. “That's right,” he said softly. “And you never have to run from me, not ever.” 

River turned her head, looking away from him. “I hurt you,” she said flatly. “You should run from me.”

The Doctor almost laughed. This young River Song did not know exactly how much and how long he had run from her, but not because she could break his bones. Never again.

“River, you fight what they did to you every day. You are so brave and so strong. You are so much more than what they tried to make you. But you can't be perfect all the time. It's not your fault when you falter, not ever.”

He had said these words to her before, but she had never broken his leg before either. How could he possibly want to be around the monster she was? She felt the Doctor move, pulling at her hands then felt him withdraw with a grunt of pain. “You are hurt. Stop moving. Stop trying,” she said, pulling her legs tighter against her.

“Never,” the Doctor said emphatically, and he reached out and grabbed her hands anyway, yelping out in pain. “Enough of this. Look at me.”

River kept her eyes on the floor, but moved around to face him so he wouldn't have to shift his leg anymore. He put his hand on her cheek. “Look at me,” he repeated and tipped her face up. She looked up at him, calming her features and making them unreadable. It was a tactic she had learned very early. Kovarian had used her emotions against her, so she quickly learned to hide them as much as he could. 

The Doctor saw the River mask go up into place, and he sighed. He hated that face, but it was one he knew well, and one that he knew protected the tender heart inside the woman who wore it. “River, you never have to hide from me and you never have to run from me,” he said. “I know who you are, including the bone breaking assassin, and you know how I feel.”

“How?” she asked, the mask slipping a little. “Does future River Song lie to you and hide who she is? Does she trick you into falling in love with her?”

The Doctor stroked her cheek with his thumb, “River Song has never hidden the woman she is from me. She may not always tell me the whole truth, but I have always been able to see who she is inside. And I trust her completely.”

The Doctor pushed on River's mind with his own and let her see bits and pieces of the way he felt. What surprised River was that they were all moments from her past, not her future. She saw their journey so far through his eyes and felt overwhelmed with what he saw in her. She scrambled away from him, afraid again. But this time she didn't run. She looked at him with wide eyes and he didn't let her go. He held her gaze until her breathing calmed again.

“Now,” the Doctor said, “I would love it if you would help me up and take me back to the med bay. Time Lord metabolism, you know. I think I need another pain injection.” River helped him to his feet and helped him to the med bay, which they found just around the corner from where they had been. 

“How did we get..... ” River asked, looking around the hallway behind them. 

“She's a tricky one, my Old Girl,” the Doctor said, laying down on one of the beds. “She may not take you where you want to go, but she'll always take you where you need to go.” He pointed to the pain medication he had left out and had River bring it over.

“You aren't just going to heal it with regeneration energy?” River asked, giving him the injection. 

“No, I earned this one,” the Doctor said. “I should have known better.” He looked up at River, “I'm sorry for what I said earlier.”

“I'm sorry too,” River said, brushing his hair back from his forehead. “I'm sorry for...”

“You are forgiven,” the Doctor said, cutting her off. “But I'd feel a lot better if you could take me to your father and let him set this leg.”

River panicked a little at the thought of explaining the situation to her parents but the Doctor grabbed her hand. “We don't have tell them what happened,” the said. “I think if you tell them I tripped over a crack in the floor, they would believe you.”

River looked at him gratefully and squeezed his hand. Then she went off to the control room and took her second solo flight at the controls of the TARDIS to find her parents.


End file.
